Date Of Publication:2020-02-16 Click-Through Rate:13
The coronavirus outbreak is forcing Nintendo to delay production of the company’s Nintendo Switch devices for the Japanese market.
On Thursday, the company told Japanese consumers that production and shipment delays for Nintendo products are “inevitable” due to the coronavirus, which has been spreading across China.
The Nintendo Switch console and Joy-Con controllers are both produced in the country. “We will work hard to deliver the product as soon as possible, while keeping an eye on the effects of the new coronavirus infection,” Nintendo added in the statement. In the meantime, the company has postponed reservations for the special Animal Crossing version of the Nintendo Switch in Japan.
The good news is that the delays have been contained to the Japanese market. “Nintendo does not anticipate a significant impact on our broader global supply chain for systems and accessories at this time, and product sales in North America and Europe, including pre-orders, are not affected,” the company told PCMag.
Last year, Nintendo moved some Switch production to Vietnam as the US placed tariffs on Chinese-made goods. So that may explain why the company can avoid the production delay for the North American market.
Nevertheless, the coronavirus continues to spread. On Thursday, the World Health Organization reported 28,060 confirmed cases in the country, along with 564 deaths. Another 225 cases have been confirmed outside of China, resulting in one death.
Despite the outbreak, manufacturing giant Foxconn, which builds Nintendo products and Apple’s iPhone, said it plans to restart its factories in the country following the Chinese New Year holiday. But that won’t occur until late this month, due to the travel restrictions resulting from government attempts to contain the virus, according to Reuters.
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